Show Me Your Declutters!

but had absolutely no room for them in my containers. While the thought "buy more containers" crossed my mind for a brief second, I quickly dismissed it as I'm starting to feel overwhelmed with too much stuff. I'd been pulling out one or two here and there, but today was the big reckoning!Sorry I didn't stage a better pic, but that's 55 lip items that are now gloriously gone from my stash!

This is only the stuff I pulled today; I have a small train case packed full of the other lippies (and some palettes) that I've been slowly pulling over the last couple of months. Do I still have more I could get rid of? Yeah, most likely...if I was on the fence, I erred on the side of keeping it rather than tossing. And I didn't swatch every single keeper to weed out similar shades, so there's probably still a good bit of overlap in my berry-heavy collection. But my oh my, I feel soooo much better now. I found not only things I had forgotten about, but things I really had no clue I even owned in the first place 🤣

So...do you have too much too? Ready to clear up some space and salvage a little sanity? Share your declutters with us; we wanna see it!

Re: Show Me Your Declutters!

If you worry you're being too picky, you're not! The only real recommendation I have is just to swatch and try on in-store as much as possible, because the kind of finish a lippie has can actually change how the color looks (I know, I'm preaching to the choir here, this is for lurkers). This is why so many people hate red lipstick, too... Finding "your" red can be a long process 🐢

I've had to get over any self-consciousness I might have about going into a Sephora like I own the place, picking out eight different testers, then sitting myself at one of those MUA stations in a corner somewhere to sanitize and test all of them with those little disposable doe-foot applicators. This is why I shop alone 😂 But my declutter pile would be twelve times bigger if I wasn't able to do that, so I suppose my biggest Rouge perk is enjoying a truly leisurely shopping experience when I'm on a project like that 😂

Re: Show Me Your Declutters!

@fieldsofclover Yes, that's exactly it- I feel so self-conscious going in store & testing them one by one. But then it's so hard staring at shades on my computer screen & trying to figure out if it'll work for me or not. Maybe I just need to go when it's busy haha so I'm not the sole focus. Baby steps

Re: Show Me Your Declutters!

@ohheyitscindyk It is hard at first! I usually go to the same two or three stores so now they just come ask out of curiosity, haha. There's really no better way, unfortunately... wrist swatching will get you halfway there, but putting them on makes the iffy ones really clear either way. I've gone in convinced I was going to buy one thing, then eventually left with a shade I had originally ruled out based on online swatches (my Givenchy fuschia, actually).

One tip is to sit at the station furthest from the doors, and sort of flash the handful of testers to any of the employees that look your way. I also line them up on the tabletop in front of me to give any security cameras a clear view of what/how many I have. Basically, you just want to telegraph that you're not planning to steal anything or rub a tester straight onto your face... after that you can get down to business.

(This is also getting heavily into white privilege shopping-behavior territory, but I don't have any better suggestions.)

Re: Show Me Your Declutters!

If you have anything at all you are looking at ordering from Sephora, use promo code GLOSSED. I am a huge fan of the formula, but the color is also pretty incredible. I was looking at it thinking it might be a smidge too light, but it wound up going on a bit richer than I expected.

Or go to Ulta/Sephora and check out the Lancome L'Absolue Lacquer in 378 Be Unique (which is the color in the Sephora promo) and also look at 366 Power Rose (which is a smidge darker, with a tinge more berry).

Re: Show Me Your Declutters!

@RGbrown Yep, you and I are definitely the same color fam even if the exact undertone is a little different. Congrats on being a color unicorn, it can make it more infuriating to find things that work in the long run, but at least you already find joy in the process 🙌😂🦄

Re: Show Me Your Declutters!

@fieldsofclover hahaha, I guess I just went into it with next to no notion of what I was "supposed" to get, and just grabbed stuff that caught my eye. There was a little trial and error in the beginning (I have a few mostly-beige-with-one-or-two-purples palettes in my declutter purgatory lol), but once I went full-on color, I never looked back

Re: Show Me Your Declutters!

In lieu of this thread I decided to give my lip products a collection another once over. I did a pretty ruthless declutter a few months ago, so I didn't expect much. I decided anything I haven't worn even once this year, I didn't care about enough to keep in my collection.

I'm quite impressed there were only 4 of about 50 lip products, that means my collection is filled with things I Love!

Re: Show Me Your Declutters!

Haha, I'm making myself use up a Buxom sample right now. I don't care about it much one way or the other, so I just slap it on around the house when I think about it. I kept a few no/low color glosses to finish off that way just so I wouldn't feel as bad about tossing them lol.

Re: Show Me Your Declutters!

@RGbrown Now I wish I had taken photos of my recent five-part declutter for the ages! 😁

Part 1 was decluttering skin care products and samples. I gave about 75 items to a friend. I’ve spent the last two years discovering what will keep my skin healthy, clear of acne, and help my rosacea stay in long-term remission. Along the way, I’ve tried and liked many products. However, now I’ve found products I absolutely love and am decluttering the likes.

Part 2 was decluttering more skin care samples. I found a container full that I had forgotten about. I gave another 20 to another friend. Same situation as above.

Part 3 was decluttering highlighter palettes and singles, eyeshadow palettes and singles, mascara samples, unused lip glosses, lipsticks, and liquid lipsticks, eyebrow gels, primers, setting sprays, makeup brushes of all sizes, cleansers, and setting powders. I gave this group of about 120 products to a young, aspriring MUA who has made such great use of previous declutter hauls I’ve sent her way. She’s super-talented and I love seeing her creations. The Part 3 declutter reflected the fact that I’ve found some solid go-to products over the last two years and it’s time to admit to myself that I won’t be going back to a number of products that I used in the beginning. Parting with classics from ABH, UD, CoverFX, Too Faced, MAC, Tarte, LM, etc. was such sweet sorrow 💔 😅

Part 4 was decluttering fragrance samples and minis. I decided to part with about 50 of those because I have about 10 favourites now that I reach for consistently. This declutter went to a family member, along with another 20 skin care samples.

Part 5 was decluttering yet more highlighter palettes, mascara samples, eyeshadow singles, unused lip glosses, lipsticks, and liquid lipsticks, makeup brushes, cleansers, as well as foundation samples, concealer, bronzer palettes, and a ton of nail polish. This declutter went to a family friend’s teen who is just starting to try out makeup. I like the idea of her getting to start her own makeup journey with high-quality makeup for free. Who wouldn’t want to skip the wallet-draining experimentation stage?? 😊

I have found that decluttering with a purpose in mind causes me to be far more aggressive with my declutters. Knowing who will be using the makeup motivates me to put together a nice, customized package that will suit their skin tone, needs, and tastes. I ask for special requests, too, and always mention that they are free to give away/pass on any products that don’t work for them. I just prefer that it gets used by someone, instead of sitting in a landfill somewhere.

Now I’m down to reasonable amounts of products in every category and I have set up a rotation system so I use different products every week to keep things fun and to make sure everything will be used up before it expires. I feel much happier about how my makeup shelves look and function now! 💅🏻💄😊

Re: Show Me Your Declutters!

@PinkEvergreen That's fantastic! I know part of what's holding me back from a much deeper cut is that a lot of it would involve sending perfectly good products to the landfill. I don't have people in my life right now who I could share hand-me-downs with.

Re: Show Me Your Declutters!

@fieldsofclover@RGbrown Teenagers are definitely where it’s at lol 😂 They aren’t picky like adults, love to experiment, and have already seen most of what you give them used on YouTube and have ideas on how to use it.

As for having a network... it did take me some time to create my “makeup recycling network.” I honestly don’t know anyone as devoted (okay, obsessed) with makeup as I am, and most of my friends don’t even wear makeup. So I spoke to colleagues, friends, family, and neighbours, and even cross-country, to find people who would be interested in it. I don’t mind mailing declutter boxes if it means makeup finds a good home.

So, yah, that part was a bit of a chore, because I didn’t want to give good makeup to people who would just toss it. Doing the declutters was actually much more fun than establishing who would make use of the products — go figure 😊